W. Somerset Maugham's "Before the Party" is a novelette first published in the December 1922 edition of "Nash's Magazine." After the death of her husband, an alcoholic colonial administrator in Borneo, Millicent returns to England to live with her parents and sister. Did Millicent's husband die of a fever, as Millicent claims, or was his throat cut? And if the latter, was it suicide or homicide? Sample passage: Mrs. Skinner had thought it very peculiar that her daughter should have no photographs of Harold in her room. Indeed she had spoken of it once, but Millicent had made no reply....

Considered Maugham's most classic and lasting contribution to literature, Of Human Bondage is a powerful, moving work that should be read by everyone.

Listed 44 of the best novels ever written. Of Human Bondage, published in 1915, is considered to be W. Somerset Maugham's best work. Many believe the novel to be one of the world's literary masterpieces. The story follows Phillip Carey from early childhood through his 30's. Orphaned at 9, Phillip spends his early years raised by his childless aunt and uncle. His aunt tries to be a mother to Philip, but she is unsure how to behave whereas his uncle, a vicar, takes a cold disposition towards him. Philip is sent to a boarding school but his shyness and his club foot make it difficult for him to...

An episodic novel about Charles Strickland by the author of -Of Human Bondage.-

The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by a first-person narrator, in a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker, who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist. The story is said to be loosely based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. The inspiration for this story, Gauguin, is considered to be the founder of primitivism in art. The main differences between Gauguin and Strickland are that Gauguin was French rather than English, and...

In 1897, after spending five years at St Thomas's Hospital I passed the examinations which enabled me to practise medicine. While still a medical student I had published a novel called Liza of Lambeth which caused a mild sensation, and on the strength of that I rashly decided to abandon doctoring and earn my living as a writer; so, as soon as I was 'qualified', I set out for Spain and spent the best part of a year in Seville. I amused myself hugely and wrote a bad novel.

Said to be loosely based on the life of artist Paul Gaugin, The Moon and Sixpence tells the story of a wealthy stockbroker in middle age, with a wife and children, who leaves his settled life to pursue painting. He abandons everything he has ever known in order to follow a passionate impulse that takes him from France to Tahiti, into the arms of a mistress (his French benefactor's wife, no less) and then steeped in poverty, far away from civilization. While it might read like a cautionary tale for some, The Moon and Sixpence depicts the kind of madness necessary for some to fully realize...